he construction industry had 306,000 job openings on the last day of July, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings increased by 64,000 last month and are up by 77,000 from the same time last year. “The construction job opening rate rose to the highest level in over a year during July,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Given the ongoing decline in nonresidential construction … Read more
ABC: Construction Materials Prices Jump 0.4% in July
Construction input prices increased 0.4% in July compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis’ of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released. Nonresidential construction input prices also increased 0.4% for the month. Overall construction input prices are 2.2% higher than a year ago, while nonresidential construction input prices are 2.6% higher. Prices increased in 2 of the 3 energy categories last month. Crude petroleum and unprocessed energy materials prices were up 1.7% and 0.5%, respectively, while natural gas prices decreased 2.1% in July. “Construction materials prices continued to increase too quickly … Read more
ABC: Nonresidential Construction Spending Contracts in 6 of Past 7 Months
National nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.1% in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors’ analysis of data published by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.241 trillion. Spending was down on a monthly basis in 9 of the 16 nonresidential subcategories. Private nonresidential spending fell 0.3% for the month, while public nonresidential construction spending inched 0.1% higher. “Nonresidential construction spending declined in June and has now contracted in 6 of the past 7 months,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Recent declines would be worse if not for ongoing increases in public … Read more
Construction Hiring Remains Subdued in June
The construction industry had 246,000 job openings on the last day of June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting. Industry job openings increased by 14,000 last month but are down by 39,000 from the same time last year. “While industrywide job openings increased in June, the share of all construction positions that are unfilled remains low by recent standards,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “More importantly, … Read more
ABC Reports Nonunion Construction Workforce Tops 80% in 41 States
Associated Builders and Contractors released an analysis of 2024 state union membership data published by unionstats.com, which found that in 41 states at least 80% of workers in the private construction industry did not belong to a union. At least 90% of workers in the private construction industry did not belong to a union in 29 states in 2024 and 2023, up from 26 states in 2022 and 24 states in 2021. Nationwide, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nearly 8 million construction industry workers were not members of a union in 2024, a 12,000-person increase from 2023. … Read more



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